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Ending the pandemic is different from eradicating the virus. It'll likely end up being something we manage just as we manage viruses like measles or Ebola. Vacc
by hedgehog 5y ago
Ending the pandemic is different from eradicating the virus. It'll likely end up being something we manage just as we manage viruses like measles or Ebola. Vaccination and surveillance will slow the sporadic smaller outbreaks and make it feasible to contain them.
- nradov 5y agoThere's no scientific reason to expect that outbreaks of a highly infectious respiratory virus can be contained by measures short of the drastic lockdowns used in authoritarian countries like China and Australia. Most people in most countries won't go along with that, and in many countries the governments don't even have the resources to even try. A more realistic scenario is that we all get infected eventually but vaccines keep the death toll low.
- hedgehog 5y agoI hope you're wrong but unclear. Best I can tell it's likely populations with near-100% vaccination rates and reasonable public health teams will be protected from large outbreaks. That strategy has worked for measles, we'll see what happens on this one.
- nradov 5y agoMeasles isn't a valid comparison for a control strategy. It isn't commonly spread by asymptomatic patients. There are no animal reservoirs. The measles vaccine is far more effective at really blocking infections rather than just preventing severe symptoms. So your hopes are unfounded.